Incident Reporting & Investigation Centre; IRIC) Specialist

On 1 April 2026, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.

As part of this transformation, NSS and NES have joined to form a new organisation:
Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland). This new organisation will play a pivotal role in supporting the renewal and ensuring the long-term sustainability of health and care services across Scotland.

PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.

We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.

The Incident Reporting & Investigation Centre (IRIC) is Scotland's national centre for investigating adverse incidents involving health and care technologies, facilities and equipment. Our role is to improve safety through reporting, learning and prevention across Scotland's health and social care system.

We are seeking an IRIC Specialist to join our national team within NHS Scotland Assure. This is a rewarding and varied role that combines incident investigation, risk assessment, problem solving, stakeholder engagement and safety improvement work.

You will investigate adverse incidents involving medical devices, estates and facilities equipment, social care equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE). Working closely with NHS Boards, local authorities, manufacturers, regulators and technical specialists, you will help identify risks, develop recommendations, share learning and contribute to national safety improvements.

Key responsibilities include:

• Coordinating and conducting adverse incident investigations.
• Gathering and analysing evidence to understand what happened and why.
• Applying investigation techniques, root cause analysis and risk assessment methodologies.
• Working with clinical, technical and professional specialists to develop effective safety recommendations.
• Preparing investigation reports, safety alerts, briefings and guidance.
• Supporting investigations into serious incidents, including those involving severe harm or fatalities.
• Promoting learning and prevention activities across Scotland's health and social care services.

We are looking for someone who is curious, analytical and motivated by improving safety.

This role does not require candidates to be engineers, scientists or healthcare professionals. While clinical, technical or scientific knowledge would be advantageous, much of the specialist product knowledge can be learned on the job through experience and collaboration with subject matter experts from across NHS Scotland Assure.

We welcome applications from candidates with experience in areas such as:

• Healthcare or social care.
• Patient safety, governance or quality improvement.
• Complaints handling.
• Risk management or assurance.
• Incident investigation.
• Procurement or contract management.
• Regulatory or compliance functions.
• Medical devices, care equipment or facilities services.
• Other roles involving investigation, evidence gathering, analysis and risk assessment.

You should be able to demonstrate:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong investigative, analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience assessing risk and making evidence-based decisions.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and complex workloads.
• Confidence working with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience preparing reports, recommendations or other written outputs.
• A commitment to continuous improvement and improving outcomes for patients, service users and staff.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a PVG Scheme and Disclosure Scotland check.

Gyle Square, Edinburgh or Delta House, Glasgow

36 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

This post currently operates under hybrid working arrangements, subject to service requirements.

The role requires occasional travel throughout Scotland and, on occasion, elsewhere in the UK.

Flexible rostering arrangements are in place to enable each employee to benefit from flexible working while maintaining roster cover during standard business hours - 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday.

PSD Scotland is a remote-friendly employer with colleagues based throughout…